At 9.35 P.M. on the 9th January information was tele- phoned from the Coastguard at Re- culvers that a vessel was burning flares about three-quarters of a mile N.W.

from Reculvers. The vessel proved to be the barge Vicunia, of London, bound, laden, from Portland to London, with a crew of three on board. As the Life- boat Coxswain was at sea, the Motor Life-boat Lord Sonthborough (Civil Service No. 1) was launched in charge of Robert Ladd, one of the survivors of the surf-boat disaster in 1897. The Life-boat found that the vessel was in a sinking condition. Her crew and their dog were already in the ship's boat, which they were keeping afloat by bailing. The men and their dog were taken into the Life-boat and landed at Margate at 12.15 A.M.—Rewards, £16 10s..